My folks bought our farm in 1965, $89.50/acre. Not much, just a 190 acre brush farm, but it was theirs! Dad had the crop land laid out on terrace contours & we plowed up to the contour lines, eventually making terraces. I inherited it when Mom died in December. I'm splitting off 50 acres to my brother, which I'm sure will be sold as soon as he can (no loss to me). We will keep the remaining 140 acres!

The long time renter's son approached me last summer about putting the crop land in CRP, as his brothers didn't want to crop it anymore. Very understandable, as it is poor ground & small patches, hard for today's machinery to work. So, today was the day to get the details & start the ball in motion! The county FSA directory grew up about a mile form us, so I've known him all my life. Had him clue me in on the procedures & started the paperwork this morning. Will sign it into the next CRP contract & get some money "back" from the government for a change!

Next thing is to talk to the state "Private Land Conservationist" to see what assistance I can get from them about the possibility of some selective logging. I have some big Oaks & a few other species that need to be cut, but don't want just any logger on the property. I've seen too many timbers destroyed by over-sized skidders & poor logging practices, I'll let the trees stand first!

Good Luck on your "CRP" ?? . If you can get the land to pay you ,instead of you paying ,,Go for it .. But when it comes to the logging DO YOUR HOME WORK ! ! ! ! ! ! Talk to any body who had it done, and get as many Quotes as you can . You can't "take there word"

on the price or what is good or bad . Trust me they will steal you blind if you don't educate your self as much as you can. Now for the ones that are going to say.." na to that" i am just telling you what i have bin through with the loggers in our area. Good Luck

Good Luck on your "CRP" ?? . If you can get the land to pay you ,instead of you paying ,,Go for it .. But when it comes to the logging DO YOUR HOME WORK ! ! ! ! ! ! Talk to any body who had it done, and get as many Quotes as you can . You can't "take there word"

on the price or what is good or bad . Trust me they will steal you blind if you don't educate your self as much as you can. Now for the ones that are going to say.." na to that" i am just telling you what i have bin through with the loggers in our area. Good Luck

Patrick

I talked to the area MO Dept. of Conservation "Resource Forester" this afternoon, she's going to look it over in about a month to help decide if it's worth logging. I know there are Oaks plenty big enough for logging, but are there enough of them to justify bringing in a logger? Another possibility is to have the renter cut & stage them for a buyer, haven't talked to him yet.

Wow ! Beautiful property. Looks a lot like the area we live in here in Northern Michigan. Not sure what the CRP is but hope it works out for you. As far as low impact logging, I remember seeing a tv program from out that way where a family uses horses to log the properties they are hired to cut. As was stated do your homework and make sure you get cleanup and brush piling in the contract. Nothing I hate more than to see all the brush and tops left to rot on the ground making it hard to even walk the property. My BIL is a driver / mechanic for a big logging company here. He says you can tell a good company by how clean they leave the land. Good luck. Wish I was closer the ride looks like a lot of fun for all. Roger

Sorry for the loss of your mother. That's a tough way to get property.

I agree. Be very careful with your logger. A mix of select cutting and some clear cutting would work well for game management. Especially if you turn some of the clear cut into food plots. They don't have to be fancy. Winter wheat and rye do a great job. Especially when the oaks don't bear.

In NC you can't burn off the laps and stumps anymore. You either haul them off to an LCID landfill, leave them lay or pile them up. You forester will know what you can do. Select cutting is not as neat and pretty as one would think. After all the tree has to fall somewhere(taking small trees with it) and you have to at least skid the logs to a landing. And trucks have to get to and from the landing.

Personally I wouldn't take all the oaks. It's a full generation before you will have mast bearing trees on the property again. In case you can't tell, I love to hunt. A few acres clear cut with some turned into food plots and some left to run wild can turn the deer on like wildfire. It's harder on turkey but great for deer.

Sorry for the loss of your mother. That's a tough way to get property.

I agree. Be very careful with your logger. A mix of select cutting and some clear cutting would work well for game management. Especially if you turn some of the clear cut into food plots. They don't have to be fancy. Winter wheat and rye do a great job. Especially when the oaks don't bear.

In NC you can't burn off the laps and stumps anymore. You either haul them off to an LCID landfill, leave them lay or pile them up. You forester will know what you can do. Select cutting is not as neat and pretty as one would think. After all the tree has to fall somewhere(taking small trees with it) and you have to at least skid the logs to a landing. And trucks have to get to and from the landing.

Personally I wouldn't take all the oaks. It's a full generation before you will have mast bearing trees on the property again. In case you can't tell, I love to hunt. A few acres clear cut with some turned into food plots and some left to run wild can turn the deer on like wildfire. It's harder on turkey but great for deer.

One possibility is to be able to hire the farm renter to stage the logs. I haven't talked to him yet, but he has done some before!

As for the wildlife, I've been clearing the trash trees (and piling them) out of an area & letting it re-grow, then moving to another area, for several years. Keeps various stages of growth for the wildlife. Some areas are sown into mostly alfalfa/clover mix for them too! I've been at this a while, but to do too much would have been working against myself until now, since I didn't own the property.

I had some property evaluated years ago. Like mentioned research this & do your homework. I had a state forestry division come & do this for free. I would consider thinning out versus totally logging a whole area unless you want that. A lot of those trees are being choked & would florish given the space. If you have any black walnut trees they can bring a lot of money. A 9' branchless trunk around 19" diameter can bring between $7-9 hundred. Veneer grade more than that. Sometimes wood workers that have a mill or buy logs can come in & thin out can bring a good price as well. With that much property you have a lot of options. Glad your feeling good about this transition & hope the best for you & your family.

I'd check the state laws, where I live the forestry dep't has a contract you can make the logger sign, it gives the landowner rights to stop cutting if you are unhappy with the work... and legal teeth to make him clean up his mess. The forestry people will also walk your land and recommend which trees to cut, good luck-